Land Use

1 LAND USE COMMITTEE EDWARDSVILLE PLAN COMMISSION May 07, 2015 PRESENT ABSENT Larry Miller (arrived late) John Mullane, Chair Paul Pitts Veronica Armouti, Vice Chair Beth Schlueter Anna Harris Scott Hanson, Staff Ben Powell Lisa Schneck, Staff Mark Rabe Kathy Long, Infinity Land Group Megan Riechmann Mike Rathgeb, Infinity Land Group Dennis Denby, CMT At the regular meeting of the Plan Commission's Land Use Committee, the following was discussed: Case 2015-12: @ Cloverdale – Planned Unit Development (PUD) Developer: Infinity Land Group Engineer: Crawford, Murphy, & Tilly Hanson gave a quick overview of the project. The property is zoned R-1. The property is mostly treeless with the exception along the east property line. The utilities will be extended by the developer. Gas and electric will be served by Ameren Illinois. The City will provide sanitary sewer, water, and fire protection. Access will be off a stub street at Cloverdale Drive to the west and wraps around to the north near Meadow Drive. There will be sidewalks along both sides of the streets including the cul-de-sac for Nickel Plate Drive. When this came in, the developers were interested in acquiring additional land from the City. Through negotiations with City Council, they came up with the plan which is here. Although this is not an official vote, they took a poll at executive session which they agreed to the sale of the land hatched on the plat. With the purchase of this land, the subdivision went from 36 lots to 42 lots. As part of that, there will be an extension of the private drive to the water tower and possibly a shared pedestrian/bike path which will connect to the MCT trail. This will be a good connection for the neighborhood. It will be encouraged to do an urban design features to the connection to encourage the neighborhood people to use it but not as a hangout area. The thought of possibly incorporating a water connection for drinking areas at this point has been discussed. This connection will not be a community connection. Staff considered the possibility of installing some pine trees to lead people back up to Cloverdale Drive with some benches located closer to the trail. The City will want it safe for both the neighbors and trail users. Discussion on where the bike trail will connect and if this would be economically feasible for the City. An estimate was done by CMT at $30,000.00 from Cloverdale to the trail which is approximately 375 feet. If the access road would serve as both the road and trail access, the cost would be reduce because both the City and the developer would share the construction costs. There are 2 variances requested. One is for reduced front yard setbacks for lots 34-42. This would be similar to Brookshire Hamlets which was the last PUD looked at. These are not lots, they are building envelopes. The structure will be confined to the building envelope. There will be a small area for potential gardens. Everything outside of that envelope will be maintained by the Homeowners Association in terms of lawn maintenance. The front yard variance is requested because of the water tower in the park area to the rear of the properties. This would also give a more uniformed look along Cloverdale. Studies have also shown that people slow down with homes that sit closer to the street as will be the situation here.  2 The 2nd variance was for the length of Nickel Plate Drive cul-de-sac. The ordinance states the length of the cul-de-sac can be no longer than 500 feet. This one is just short of 600 feet. The water supply will be looping in this area which helps with the water pressure (not to mention the close proximity of the water tower). Active greenspace is the area hatched on the plat. This area is currently owned by the City of Edwardsville. Passive greenspace has been met. The developer has decided to buyout the active greenspace. If anything that is done above and beyond in that area would be a bonus. This area which is marked active greenspace will remain greenspace just not designated for active greenspace. It is approximately 1 acre which will be dedicated as greenspace. It was suggested to put some type of language in the Covenants and Restrictions for this space to remain as greenspace. If there would be some type of construction, it would have to have the City’s approval through the permit process. This area would be strictly for the subdivision, not for public use. The thought was for a community garden which would be unique and good for both younger and older residents. It was requested that this area labeled as active greenspace be changed to greenspace. On sheet C-101, there are 3 tracts labeled along the south line. Tract 1 and 2 are being sold to LeClaire Christian Church to the south. Tract 3 will be traded for an extra lot (Lot 24) in the subdivision. The church would then get an extra row of parking. There will also be an easement for the construction of a 5-foot sidewalk for access to the church. This sidewalk will be constructed at the same time of the development. Schlueter asked if purchasing the property of the City would give them the potential to lower the price point of these lots. Rathgeb stated with only 42 lots, there is not a lot of room to make a big difference on price. He is still working hard with the manufacturers on products to deliver a better price point. Land costs will not change. The price of the lots will range from the $50,000s to $60,000s. There will be nothing in the $70,000s. The developers had a meeting with the neighboring property owners recently. There were 8 neighbors who attended the meeting. While they would rather see wildlife, they realize it is privately owned land. After discussion with the developers, the neighbors were happy with the proposed development. It was requested to have both the land transaction and the approval of the PUD to be heard on the same night in front of City Council. RECOMMENDATION: No recommendation could be made for lack of a quorum. REMINDER: PLAN COMMISSION MEETING: Monday, May 18, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall, City Council Chambers, 118 Hillsboro Avenue.